Paragraph 169(c) is amended in Bill C-11 to provide that decisions of the refugee appeal division may be issued either orally or in writing. At the end of a hearing, if a hearing is called for under the legislation, there could be an oral decision, or the member, if he needed time to formulate his thoughts, could adjourn the process and issue a decision in writing. The change with respect to the decisions of the refugee protection division on these applications for protection, these pre-removal risk assessment applications, is to retain the current practice of the minister and the department, which is to reduce all of these decisions to writing and have them delivered to the individual in person.
On June 1st, 2010. See this statement in context.